Shoppers turning to discount supermarkets to beat the budget

Shoppers are turning to discount supermarkets more than ever, according to new data.

Aldi and Lidl have grabbed their largest-ever share of the grocery sales, with the German-owned traders accounting for a total of 12 per cent of the market.

This adds up to almost £1 in every £8 of the UK’s grocery spend being in one of the ‘big two’ discounters.

Of the ‘Big Four’, Morrisons performed most strongly, with year-on-year sales up 1.9 per cent.

Tesco still has the largest UK market share, at 27.4 per cent. Their recent business overhaul saw a 0.8 per cent increase in sales in the 12-week period, outperforming rivals Sainsbury whose sales were down 0.3 per cent, while Asda sales also declined, by 0.9 per cent.

The research, by analysts Nielsen, found that Aldi’s sales grew 12 per cent year-on-year in the 12 weeks to February 25,

LIdl’s sales also rose, by 9.1 per cent over the same period.

Iceland also saw their sales on the increase with a rise of 5.6 per cent.